Full Cirlce, chapter 46
This chapter is REALLY long. Just over 9 pages in Word. I accidently did this, LOL. I contemplated turning it into two chapters, but didn't, LOL. Anyhoo, there are 4 more chapters coming after this one, but alas, exam week is coming, so the next chapter isn't going to be posted until NEXT Thursday (possibly Wednesday if I'm not too exhaused after a 4 hour Lit exam, LOL).
Anyhoo, here it is...
A week before Halloween, Derek and Addison moved into the new house, with the help of Mark and Nancy, and were situated and settled by the end of that week. While Addison amused herself with shopping for new furnishings to decorate the new house with at stores like Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn, Derek spent most of his time at the sporting goods stores, where he found Matthew’s Halloween costume-a Joe DiMaggio Yankees uniform.
On Halloween, Derek and Addison took Matthew to the Seattle Grace Halloween Parade. Addison walked behind him, letting him hold onto her fingers (as walking was still quite new for him) and Matthew toddled down the long corridors of the pediatric floor trick-or-treating, earning extra candy when he flirted with the nurses showing off his own, little McDreamy smile. Derek carried Matthew’s overflowing with candy plastic pumpkin, every-so-often sneaking a piece for himself.
A month later was Thanksgiving. As planned, Derek’s sisters and Addison’s parents flew out to Seattle to celebrate the holiday. That Thursday, the New York Jets played the Seattle Seahawks and much to their own surprise, Derek and Mark found themselves rooting against the rest of the family and cheering on Seattle. Meanwhile, Addison and Nancy burned the turkey beyond recognition and ended up sneaking out to the five-star Ashbury hotel to pick up a pre-cooked catered meal, which they both knew they paid entirely way too much for and no one ever found out about it.
And now, it was almost Christmas.
“You know, I really don’t know how comfortable I am with four members of my esteemed surgical staff jumping ship for two weeks.”
Addison looked up, “It’s the holidays, Preston.”
“Yeah,” Mark added with a slightly annoyed grin, “Besides, you’re the Chief now-handle it.” Burke glared back at him.
“You will survive two weeks without us-besides, if anything happens Stevens is here in neuro, Karev is watching neo-natal and well, just hope that no one comes in in dire need of a nose job,” Addison said with a smirk.
This time, it was Mark who glared back. “Hey…”
Burke sighed, “So, why are the three of you here anyway…and where’s the fourth musketeer? Aren’t you supposed to be in New York City by now?”
“We’re not leaving till this afternoon. Derek is at home with the baby, getting him ready to go,” Addison explained, before nodding in Nancy’s direction. “And I am seeing a patient today.”
“I’m her patient,” Nancy added.
Mark pointed towards Nancy, “And I’m with her.”
Burke nodded, “I see.” He paused and grinned at them, “You know, I’ve thought about making it policy for the hospital that family can’t work together, but then I’d be losing the four of you for much longer than two weeks-so, Merry Christmas and please, please hurry back.”
Addison, Mark and Nancy all laughed. Addison grabbed Nancy’s chart and came around the nurse’s station to hug Burke. “Merry Christmas, Preston,” she paused, grinning at him as she pulled away, “And I’m so glad that I’m not you.”
He shook his head at her, “Hurry back, Addie.”
Addison had situation Nancy on the exam table and applied the gel to her abdomen.
“I don’t have to tell you this, but it’s going to be cold.” Addison warned. Mark held Nancy’s hand, as Addison rubbed the cool metal utensil across her skin.
Nancy grimaced at the cold touch, “You know, we always tell patients that-but I’ve never really realized how shockingly cold that actually is.”
Addison grinned, “Okay…there we go…” She turned, her body hiding the screen. “You can read these things just as well as I can, so if there’s something you don’t want to know…tell me now.”
Nancy turned her head and looked at Mark, “Do we want the sex?”
Mark grinned at her, “When have I ever turned down sex?”
Nancy laughed and Addison shook her head. “Well, there you have it,” Addison told them, letting Nancy get a good look at the screen.
For awhile, Nancy stared at the screen studying every detail before she turned back to Mark, who was also staring at the screen, who was squinting his eyes, as though he was having trouble reading the monitor. “It’s the peanut shape, Mark,” Nancy said with a slight laugh. She paused for a moment and a slight smile curled up on her lips as she looked back at the screen. “And by the way-we’re having a girl.”
Mark nodded; a small grin slowly crept up on his lips. “I…see that…what…behind the baby…what is that?” He paused, “Please tell me my daughter isn’t going to have three arms.”
Addison turned back to the screen and looked at it closely. She moved the instrument around on Nancy’s abdomen, “Well, look at that…” She turned back to them, “That’s another baby.”
“Two of them are in there!?” Mark’s eyes grew wide and the color began to drain from his face-he was nervous enough about having one, but two-that was a whole new worry.
Nancy smiled at him. “Yeah…two. We’re having twins,” Nancy said, in an almost disbelief.
“We’re having…twins…” Mark said, as he grinned from ear-to-ear.
“They’re really flipping around in there,” Addison commented as she moved the instrument over Nancy’s abdomen, “I think we can actually get a look a baby number two.” She studied the monitor then looked back at Mark and Nancy, “Baby girl number two, I should say.”
Suddenly, his smile faded, “Twin girls…I am going to be the father of twin girls.” He thought of all the sisters-all the twins-he’d chased after (and caught) and suddenly saw it all from a whole new perspective and suddenly felt sick. “I’m going to have daughters…” Nancy and Addison exchanged glances. Mark looked up and saw the exchange. All of the sudden, there was a panic in his voice, “This is God’s way to taunting me for being a cad all my life. I suddenly get why no one’s father ever liked me...” In addition to the panic, there was a slight sound of amazement in his voice, like he’d just had an epiphany of sorts.
“My father liked you,” Nancy said with a grin, finding his suddenly protective nature sweet and even charming.
He looked at her incredulously. “That’s because he knew me only before puberty-before the cad years.”
Addison and Nancy both laughed, “Mark, you weren’t a cad,” Addison teased, “You were a manwhore.”
For a long time, Mark and Nancy both stared at the monitor, absolutely mesmerized by their twin daughters. Every so often, one would turn allowing them a better glance at the other and at one point, both seemed to be looking directly at them. The coloring in Mark’s face hadn’t returned yet, though he stared at the monitor with amazed eyes and a soft smile. “We’re cloistering them and forcing them into the convent. It’s a done deal. I’ve made up my mind.”
“Honey, neither one of us is Catholic.”
“That can be changed.” Nancy placed a hand over Mark’s. She shook her head and laughed. “I’m serious, Nance. You don’t know the way boys think…”
She squeezed his hand, “How about we wait till their out of diapers before we discuss which convent we shoo them off to, okay?”
Realizing that he hadn’t taken a breath in over a minute, Mark exhaled. “Fine.”
Addison grinned at them, “So, I’m just going to assume that you both want pictures.”
Mark smiled brightly, the coloring suddenly reappearing. Pride flashed in his eyes. “That’s definitely going up in my locker…and on the refrigerator…and…do you think it’s too late to put them in Christmas cards?”
A few hours later, they were all at the airport waiting to board their flight. Addison and Nancy had gone to the bathroom, one last time before boarding the plane and Derek and Mark were waiting with Matthew. Matthew stood on Derek’s knees, holding onto his hands, giggling softly as Derek bounced his knees.
“Hey, can I ask you something?” Mark asked, somewhat suddenly. Derek glanced over at him and saw that he was holding a ring box. He raised his eyebrows slightly and Mark opened the box, “Well, what do you think?”
Derek gasped mockingly, “Oh, Mark, I…I don’t know what to say…other than…I’m already married.”
Mark shot him a scowling glare, “Funny…”
“I thought so.” Derek paused and set Matthew down on his lap. “You’re going to ask Nancy to marry you?”
Mark looked down at the ring, “Yeah…well-I’m thinking about it.”
“Thinking about it is one thing. Buying a ring is another thing.”
Mark nodded, “I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”
“I see that.”
Mark smiled, “You know, when we first started this whole thing…”
“Before you even finish that sentence, keep in mind that we’re talking about my little sister here.”
Mark nodded, “Got it.” He paused, collecting his thoughts for a moment before continuing. “I never could have guessed that it would turn out like this. That in a little more than a year, I’d have a family or that I’d even fall in love with her. At the time, we both agreed that it was a fling-it would last while it lasted and we’d enjoy it while it lasted. We never planned anything-we never planned on falling in love with each other and we never planned on having kids-and we haven’t even discussed marriage…”
Derek smiled softly and looked down at Matthew sitting in his lap, sucking on his fingers and looking around, wide-eyed, at all the people scuffling along in the busy airport. “Sometimes, the best things in life are things you don’t plan-look at Addison and me. We planned everything-and when our plans didn’t work out we didn’t know what to do because we never made back-up plans. We fell apart.” He shook his head, “I never thought when I signed those divorce papers that not even a year later I would be falling in love with my ex-wife and a year after our divorce, I’d be asking her to marry me all over again.” He looked at Mark and shook his head, “And I never thought I’d have a child with the love of my life.” He smiled, “Sometimes, the best things are the things we don’t plan on.”
"Yeah, well who would have thought a few years back that you and I would be sitting in an airport waiting to board a plane to New York City so that we could spend Christmas together? I know I never thought we'd be close again."
Derek smiled, "Yeah..."
Matthew shifted in his arms, babbling in his gibberish baby-talk, suddenly reaching out for the bright and shiny ring in Mark's hand, wiggling his little fingers towards the ring. Derek and Mark both laughed as Matthew reached out for the ring. Derek pulled him back so that he couldn't touch it, but Mark turned the ring box towards him. "So, what do you think, little man? Think Aunt Nancy will like it?" Matthew just giggled and continued to wiggle his fingers towards the ring. Mark shook his head and smiled again. "Maybe I should have you give it to her. Aunt Nancy could never say no to a face like that."
"What couldn't I say no to?" Nancy asked, coming up from behind.
Mark snapped the box shut and slid it into his pocket, just before Nancy sat down beside him. "Um..." He suddenly drew a blank, instead staring at Derek for assistance.
"Um, we were just talking about kids."
Addison sat down beside Derek and pulled Matthew from his lap. "Really? That’s what you guys were talking about?" Addison asked skeptically.
Derek and Mark nodded, a little too vigorously. "Yeah, I was telling Mark that those two little girls are going to have both him and Nancy wrapped around their little fingers." He reached out and cupped Matthew's chin. "It's hard enough to say no to one face like this...imagine having two looking back at you with big eyes?"
Nancy laughed, "Yeah, well, give us a few sleepless nights. I'm sure we'll get over the angelic eyes soon enough."
Mark exhaled the breath he'd been holding and mouthed a "thank you" to Derek, who nodded. Though Nancy seemed to buy the excuse, Addison caught the secretive "thank you" and watched the two men carefully. Before she could say anything, the flight attendant called for passengers begin boarding and the five of them shuffled towards the terminal. Just before boarding, Addison placed a hand on Derek's arm and he turned back to her. "You're going to tell me what that was really about, aren't you?"
He grinned at her. "Just wait till we get into the air and their ears are too clouded to hear us from across the aisle."
Addison grinned, “You’re so good to me.”
The plane took off and almost instantly Matthew started to cry from the pressure in his ears. Both Derek and Addison tried to comfort him, but it was no use and he was restless for the entire flight. The awkward conversation from the airport was quickly forgotten. Finally, they landed in New York. Matthew's eyes and cheeks were red, his nose dripping from hours of non-stop crying.
"That was painful," Derek said, as they stepped off the plane.
"I know," Addison told him, as she cuddled Matthew, who still had tears in his eyes, against her chest, "My poor baby."
"He wasn't like that the last time we flew..."
"He was younger. He was in his sleep-though-anything phase." She paused and looked up at him. "Hey, you never told me what you and Mark were talking about in the airport."
Derek looked back at Mark who was fishing his luggage off the carousel, then back at Addison. "He bought a ring."
"An engagement ring!?"
Derek pressed his fingers up against her lips, "Shhhh. Nancy might hear you."
Addison sighed through her smile, "An engagement ring?" She whispered.
Derek nodded, "He's nervous about asking her."
Addison kissed Matthew's tear stained cheeks. "Does he think she won't say yes?"
"Do you think she will?"
"I think she will." When Derek smiled at her response, Addison tilted her head to the side. "Are you happy about this?"
Derek looked back at Nancy and Mark. "Yeah, I think I am." He looked back at his wife. "It’s good to see the both of them so happy."
"Wow. Things have changed..."
He shrugged his shoulders and placed an arm around her, "Yeah--a lot has changed in the last year." He smiled his charming McDreamy smile at her. "And it's all been for the better."
Addison smiled back at him, her eyes shining. "Let's go get our luggage."
Derek and Addison got into one cab and Mark and Nancy got into another. Though both Derek and Addison had suggested that Mark and Nancy stay with them at the brownstone, after all there was plenty of room, both declined and Mark told them both with a wink that he had other plans. So, while Derek and Addison went back to the brownstone, unpacked their luggage and situated Matthew, Mark and Nancy went out to dinner and got a hotel room at the Astoria.
That night, Mark paced the hotel room floor while Nancy was in the shower. He took a page from Addison's book and tried to practice in front of the mirror, but everything he said started to sound like the inside of a cheesy Hallmark card. He sighed, not hearing Nancy's hair dryer turn off or the bathroom door open.
"Asking her to marry me shouldn't be this complicated..." Mark said with a sigh.
Suddenly, he heard a gasp behind him. He whirled around to see Nancy in her robe, standing there with wide eyes. He stared at her, equally wide eyed. His mouth suddenly went dry and he couldn't find his voice. He was hardly aware of the open ring box in his palm. "Are you planning on asking me to marry you?" Nancy asked finally.
Mark looked down at the ring box. "Um...I...." Then, he looked back up at her, noticing that she was grinning at him. "Yeah, I am."
She nodded and watched him for a moment. She could see his heart beating in his chest and she could see how nervous he was. Slowly she walked over to him. "We haven't discussed this."
"Yeah, I know."
"We don't seem to ever have the chance to discuss anything, though, do we?"
Mark shook his head, "No, I guess not." He swallowed hard.
"Just ask me, Mark."
He looked up at her and nodded. "All last night, this morning, on the plane, in the airport, though dinner and just now when you were in the shower, I kept trying to think of the perfect proposal. Something that would literally knock you off your feet...but I couldn't think of anything. All I could think about is how much I love you and how unexpected that all has been. I never thought I'd have this--this feeling I have for you. I love you, Nancy, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I never want this feeling to end." He swallowed again and took a deep breath and sunk down onto one knee, "Will you be my wife? Will you marry me, Nancy?"
A bright smile spread across her lips and she nodded, "Of course I will."
“Hey, what are you doing?” Derek asked, coming up behind Addison, who was sitting on the window seat of their bedroom, staring out into the street.
“It’s snowing,” Addison said simply, without turning around.
Derek couldn’t help but grin as he watched her. Up until he met Addison, he’d never really been a fan of the winter months, nor had he ever been overly excited about Christmas. Likewise, in the few seasons that they were apart, he came to realize that they never meant much without Addison. It wasn’t so much the snow and the warm, fuzzy Christmassy feeling that he enjoyed, but watching her enjoy it. “Scoot over,” he told her. She did and he sat down beside her on the window seat. He let his arm fold around her hip, his hand resting in her lap. She linked her fingers through his, never taking her eyes off the falling snow. He gently placed a kiss on her temple, thinking about all the winter evenings they had sat here, just as they were then, watching the snow fall. “I’m glad that we’re here,” he told her.
She looked back over her shoulder, “Yeah?”
“Yeah-there is nothing like Christmas in New York.”
She turned back to the window and smiled. “Do you remember that night we went ice skating at Rockefeller Center?”
It was snowing pretty heavily that night. Derek had promised to take Addison ice skating and of course, she still insisted on going, despite the blizzard outside. They were in college, visiting Addison’s parents for the weekend. Addison had wanted to introduce her new boyfriend to them, but, alas, when they arrived at her parents house, the house was empty and when she called them to see when they’d be getting home, they told her that they were visiting some friends in Maine and wouldn’t be home for a week and must have forgotten to tell her. Seeing how disappointed she was, Derek had offered to take her ice skating, knowing how much she loved winter.
“Come on, Derek, it’ll be fun!”
He looked outside, “I don’t know, Add. We could go another night. The snow is really coming down out there.”
She pouting, sticking out her bottom lip and giving him sad puppy-dog eyes. “Please?”
He sighed, shaking his head. “Go find your mittens and I’ll go see if there is a cab driver crazy enough to be driving in this.”
She grinned, “Cab drivers are known for being crazy, you know.”
Leaning in, he gently kissed her, “Yeah, so I’ve heard.” He kissed her again. “I’ve also heard that the same can be said for redheads.”
Fifteen minutes later, their cab pulled up at Rockefeller Center and the ice rink was practically vacated, with the exception of a few kids staying on one end of the rink. They put on their ice-skates and Addison was first to glide out onto the ice. Derek stood there for a moment, watching her twirl in the swirling snow, her arms extended outwards, her face looking up into the snowflakes, as they cascaded down onto her. He couldn’t help but smile. He stepped out onto the ice and skated towards her. He grabbed her hands and spun her around. She laughed out, as he pulled her up against him. “You were right-this is fun.”
“We should go back there before we leave,” Derek told her.
Addison smiled, “We could take Matthew.”
He nodded, “We should.” He paused, “Maybe it’ll snow.”
“Yeah, maybe it will.”
“Every time I pass by Rockefeller Center, I think of that evening.”
“You do?” She asked, slightly surprised.
“Yeah-yeah, because it was that night, watching you twirling around in the snow that I realized I was in love with you.”
She tilted her head to the side, “Really? You never told me that before.”
Gently, he kissed her cheek. “We should definitely go back there.”
She smiled, “Yeah, it’ll be fun.” She looked back at him, “When was the last time we were there, anyway?”
Addison opened her locker. It had been a long, long day and she was very much looking forward to a little rest and relaxation at home. As she pulled out her Ralph Lauren button up shirt, a note fell down to her feet. She looked at it and smiled, knowing that it was from Derek’s prescription pad. Carefully, she picked it up and unfolded it, all the while trying to remember the last time that Derek had slipped a note into her locker.
“Ice skating at Rockefeller Center around seven o’clock tonight-meet me there. Call only if you can’t make it-otherwise, see you later. Love you, Derek.”
She smiled softly and folded the note back up. She grabbed her clothes and quickly changed before reapplying her make-up. It had been so long since she and Derek had done much of anything together-ever since they’d gotten the news that they couldn’t conceive. She had pushed him away and he seemed okay with that. She tried to pull him back in, but it didn’t seem to do any use. It seemed like they were just going through the motions-but tonight, they had a date. Even if she tried, she couldn’t stop smiling. She checked the time on her cell phone; it was just after six thirty. She slipped on her coat and checked herself in the mirror, then opened the door.
Mark was walking up to the to the locker room and stopped her, “Where are you rushing off to?”
She turned to him, still backing up down the hall towards the elevators, “I have a date.”
“A date, huh?”
“Yes,” she smiled, “A date.” She turned around and got into the elevator. Mark watched her go and then bolted down the hallway.
Addison was sitting on a bench in front of the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center. She flipped open her cell phone. It was ten after seven. She sighed. He was only a couple of minutes late-stuck in traffic, she told herself. He’d be there-he had to be there, after all, this had been his idea. But when ten minutes turned into twenty minutes and twenty minutes turned into forty-five and forty-five minutes had turned into over an hour, she realized that he wasn’t coming. She pulled the note out of her purse and looked at it. It clearly said “tonight” and it clearly said “seven o’clock”. As usual, Derek had forgotten about her and the date that he had planned. She wiped away the tears that were welling in her eyes with the back of her hand and stood up. She grabbed her purse and turned around, her body slamming into someone else.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I…” she looked up. “Derek…”
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
She stared at him for a moment. Her jaw shook and tears refilled her eyes. “What happened?”
“I got called into surgery and there were complications.”
She looked away, “Oh.”
He studied her carefully. “You don’t believe me.”
She sighed, “I’ve been sitting out here in the freezing cold for an hour and you were in surgery.” She shook her head, “You could have called, Derek.”
“Add, I’m sorry-I am really sorry.”
“Yeah, I know.” She looked briefly, but long enough to see the crestfallen expression on her face. “You always are.” She started to walk past him. “I think I just want to go home.”
Derek watched her and sighed. Just then, it started to snow. He smiled and called out to her, “Addison!”
She turned around, “What?”
He walked over to her and smiled the charming smile that knew always worked like a charm on her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him. “It’s snowing.”
She looked up at the large puffs of snow falling from the sky, “Yeah, I guess it is.”
When she looked back at him, he was smiling at her and meekly she smiled back. “I didn’t forget, Addie and I’m sorry that I didn’t call you.”
She nodded, “Okay.”
He tilted her chin up with his index finger. “Someone once told me that ice skating in the snow could be a lot of fun.”
“They must have been crazy,” she said with a slight smile.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that about redheads.”
Addison looked down, knowing that he wasn’t completely telling her the truth, but he did seem to be making some sort of effort to make it up to her.. “I don’t know, Derek…”
“Come on, it’ll be fun.” He tugged her hand gently.
She sighed, “Okay,” she smiled half-heartedly. “Yeah, I guess it could be fun.”
Addison looked down at their intertwined fingers. “So, that night…did you really just forget to call or did you forget about ice skating altogether.”
He leaned in and kissed her cheek, “I forgot all together. I chose that surgery. Mark had to interrupt and remind me that I had other plans.”
“I knew it.”
“I know you did.” She didn’t say anything, but continued to stare out at the falling snow. “You were really upset.”
She nodded, “Yeah…”
“I’m sorry, Addie.”
She looked at him with a slightly confused look on her face. “What are you apologizing for?”
“For hurting you,” he told her.
She tiled her head slight and smiled, “You don’t have to do that. It was a long time ago.”
“Still…”
“Derek, really, it’s not a big deal.”
He shook his head, “Maybe it’s not, but I still want to make it up to you.”
Addison’s eyebrows rose, “Make it up to me? You want to make up for forgetting about one date five years ago?”
He nodded and smiled, “Yeah-I do.”
She grinned at him, “So, what did you have in mind?”
“Ice skating at Rockefeller Center seems appropriate, doesn’t it?” He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ears, “How tomorrow night? The eve of Christmas Eve-it’s supposed to snow.” He kissed her temple, “After all, we’re already planning on going there-might as well make it mean something.”
She smiled, “It’s a date, then.”